Maria meets a Basenji in London`s Holland Park

Holland Park in Kensington,London houses the ancestral mansion of Charles James Fox a Whig MP who supported the American rebels and wore buff and blue - the colours of Washington`s militia. It also has a commemorative Japanese garden. It is a favourite place for the many foreigners resident in the borough where Princess Diana also lived, to walk their dogs.

Boris was being walked by his Russian lady owner. He was bred in England from ancestors imported from the Congo basin in the 1930s. Even from a distance you can see that he shares the Podengo traits of alertness, the bobbing run (double suspension gallop) and curiosity of the Podengo. A red-brown fox colour, he has the white socks, white line on the brow and white tip to his curly tail ot the Podengo as well as the pointed ears. But whilst Maria`s body is much longer than the height of her back, Boris has a square profile but also with a long neck and pointed face. Although still a puppy of six months, he looks likely to be smaller than Maria as an adult.

There was instant recognition from Maria who was soon playing her favourite game of lunge and dodge. She only plays this with dogs that have the reaction speed and agility of a Podengo. When rolled over in the game, Boris would run flat out in the tight circle, just as Podengos do. He also likes to stand on his hind legs like a Lemur.

The Basenji originated in Egypt and the Levant, just like the Podengo. We know that Portuguese sailors brought Maria`s ancestors to the Cape Verdes. Perhaps they or earlier seafarers sailed further round the African coast with the forebears of the Basenji. This seems a more comfortable and therefore plausible route than a camel caravan across the Sahara.